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There are mysteries that are incredibly bizarre, and there are mysteries that are absolutely heartbreaking. The case of the Yuba County Five is as strange as it is tragic. On Friday, February 24, 1978,
Five men from Northern California disappeared late one night while driving home from a basketball game in Chico, California. The five were Ted Weier, Jack Madruga, Bill Sterling, Gary Mathias, and Jackie Hewitt.
Their disappearance was out of character, and four days after they vanished, their car was found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, in the Plumas National Forest, on a remote road some 75 miles in the wrong direction from their homes. There was no reason for them to be there.
By June 1978, four of the five men were found dead roughly 12 miles from the car they abandoned. Nothing about this disappearance made any sense in 1978, and over 46 years later, this mystery continues to haunt Northern California. Part 1: Ted and Jackie Before we examine the disappearance, it is important to understand the five men who disappeared that February.
Four had intellectual disabilities, while one was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Let's note that all five were kind and respectful men. Yes, they had disabilities, but it did not stop them from leading productive lives. Traveling out of town as a group was common, and they had no history of getting lost.
They had visited cities like Chico or Sacramento for events, and if anything went wrong or plans changed, they would update their families with a call. The oldest of the group was Ted Weier. He was 32 years old and lived with his mother in Yuba County, California. Locals remembered Ted as someone who lacked common sense but was a gifted athlete.
His family remembers Ted asking why people had to stop at a stop sign, because he could just not comprehend the rules of the road. When Ted was younger, the family home caught fire while Ted was sleeping. Ted's brothers attempted to evacuate the burning home, but Ted refused to leave. He wanted a good night's sleep before work. In the end, they forcibly dragged Ted from the burning home.
Despite these eccentricities, Ted excelled at basketball and enjoyed other sports. He spent weekends at the roller rink or the bowling alley. While he didn't possess a driver's license, he would walk places if someone could not give him a ride. The Weier family mentioned Ted's athleticism meant five or ten miles was no effort for him. One place he frequented was the home of Jackie Hewitt. Jackie Hewitt was the youngest of the group and Ted's best friend.
Both men met in the early 70s at a program for people with disabilities. Family and friends remembered Jackie as Ted's shadow because where Ted went, you'd find Jackie. When the men disappeared, the press reported that Jackie was the most disabled of the group. This has been disputed by Jackie's family. They knew he had a disability, but they remembered he was someone who could hold his own on family fishing and camping trips.
Jackie was a quiet person with a big heart. Everyone close to Jackie said he was a perfect gentleman, citing he never caused any problems. Like Ted, he enjoyed walking, trips to the roller rink or bowling alley, and even a good game of mini golf. One thing reported about Jackie Hewitt was his aversion to the telephone. The concept of calling someone and speaking to them on a phone puzzled Jackie.
he would have Ted call his family if he was running late or on his way home. Although Ted and Jackie were friends, Ted would sometimes act as Jackie's big brother and protector. Part 2: Jack and Bill Jack Madruga was 30 years old when he disappeared. He was an army veteran that served during the Vietnam War. His family stated that, while never properly diagnosed as disabled, Jack was deemed slow.
Jack's nieces and nephews said that their uncle was a kind man who was smart and enjoyed life. One of Jack's passions was his car. The two-door 1969 Mercury Montego was his pride and joy. Since Jack owned a car, he would take the other men places. Those who knew Jack said that he prided himself on a clean car, in top shape, and did not allow any backseat drivers.
Jackie Hewitt's family remembered a time when Jack Madruga refused to drive Hewitt home because the only road had too many potholes. There was no way Jack would ruin his car with a pothole. Jack's best friend was Bill Sterling, declared missing at 29 years old. Bill was the only member of the group not to live in Yuba County, growing up in the neighboring Sutter County.
When the men went missing, Jack Madruga's mother told the press that Bill Sterling was her son's special friend. Like the others, Bill had a cognitive disability. During the investigation, his mother told law enforcement that Bill spent time in mental institutions from childhood into his teenage years. The reason, according to his mother, was because of hyperactivity. Bill's mother claimed he could be a handful,
and she believed the mental institutions would better him. Despite these hyperactive claims, Bill was remembered as a quiet young man, a great bowler, and member of a bowling team for people with disabilities. Ted Weier's nephew remembered going out to bowl with Sterling, and he would offer bowling tips to anyone who would listen. Religion was also very important to Bill, and he spent time with the Christian singles community.
While his success in dating was unknown, he would help organize out-of-town trips for the singles group. It was reported that Bill spent time in hospitals reading Bible passages to people. Not only was Bill good friends with Jack Madruga, but he enjoyed hanging out with Ted Weier. Sometimes Ted would find a funny name in the phone book, so he would call Bill and share the humorous discovery.
The four spent time together, for the most part, occasionally mixing all together for their shared interests. However, a newcomer emerged to join: Gary Mathias. Part 3: Gary Mathias Gary Mathias was another young man battling mental illness. In the early 1970s, Gary was stationed in West Germany with the US Army.
Under suspicion of drug use, the authorities sent him from the military to a psychiatric hospital in California. Gary would soon escape, later leading to his diagnosis of schizophrenia. From 1971 until 1975, Gary lived with schizophrenia and avoided any kind of medication. His life was an absolute roller coaster, according to his family. Police arrested Gary for fondling his cousin while she slept.
While in jail, Gary assaulted a sheriff's officer and told them he wanted out of the military. Thinking if he punched a member of law enforcement, he would be discharged. Gary would be released but arrested again. This time, the charges were breaking and entering. One night, he disturbed a couple by entering the house. When confronted, Gary informed them he was there to claim a ring Satan stole from him. As law enforcement arrived, he claimed he was their landlord.
An ex-girlfriend of Gary's would tell investigators during the disappearance that he once stopped by her home and told her young child, "I thought I'd kill you once, but I'll do it again." This period in Gary's life was turbulent for his family. Before his diagnosis, they remembered Gary as an outstanding athlete and a talented harmonica player.
Gary was in a local rock band, and they played shows in the Yuba County area. His family knew if Gary was going to get on the right track, then he would need them to help manage his life. By 1975, Gary took a regiment of medication, and he saw a medical professional about his schizophrenia. One place that offered Gary help was the Gateway Projects. It was a local nonprofit that assisted people with disabilities and mental illness.
The Gateway Projects offered life coaching and trained people for various jobs. Ted, Jack, Bill, Gary, and Jackie were all part of the Gateway Projects. All five men were on their Special Olympics basketball team known as the Gateway Gators. On Saturday, February 25, 1978, they were to play in a tournament that offered an opportunity to participate in the state's Special Olympics tournament in Los Angeles that summer.
The men were excited about the game, and some had laid out their uniforms in advance. They learned that the night before their tournament, their favorite college basketball team had an away game. All five decided to see the game, a fateful decision they would soon discover. This episode is brought to you by Acorns. Imagine if every purchase you made could help build your financial future effortlessly. Thanks to Acorns, this
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Part 4. February 24, 1978.
On February 24, 1978, the five men hopped into Jack Madruga's 1969 Mercury Montego and drove some 50 miles from Yuba County to Chico, California. UC Davis, their favorite team, had an away game at Chico State University. The five planned to watch the game, drive home, and then get up early the next day to go to their Special Olympics tournament.
It was a fantastic night for the group. UC Davis won the game. After the game ended, they stopped by a local convenience store. They entered Bear's Market around 10 pm, which annoyed the cashier on duty as it was near closing time. He told investigators that the five purchased junk food, pop, and milk. They paid and left. What happened next is based upon the investigation and various theories.
In order to leave Chico, Jack Madruga would have driven south on California Highway 99. That highway would lead them out of town and then eventually split into two routes. The westernmost route is Highway 99, which leads back to Sutter County, where Bill Sterling lived. The easternmost route was Highway 70, which led to Yuba County, where the remaining four lived.
Had Madruga picked Highway 70, he would briefly be on California State Route 149, and then he would be on Highway 70. Either route was fine for Madruga to take. His family would later tell the press and investigators that Jack Madruga had driven to Chico in the past and knew his way home. Madruga was known as a reliable driver, and he had no known history of getting lost.
However, regardless of said history, on February 24, 1978, the five never returned home. During the late hours of Friday, February 24, 1978, a man named Joseph Shones saw something unusual in the Plumas National Forest. Sometime around 6 p.m. on the 24th, Shones got his car stuck on a remote road in the forest. The road was near a site called Rogers Cow Camp,
This area laid the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and was some 4,000 feet in elevation, with plenty of snow on the ground. Joseph Shones claimed he drove up that road to see the snow line, but got his car stuck. When he tried pushing it out of the snow, he had a heart attack. Shones could not move his car and needed help. He would reportedly rest in his car for hours. The place where Shones was stuck was a deserted road in the middle of nowhere.
He lived in the Plumas area in a community called Berry Creek, which was some 23 miles south. It was rare to see cars in that area, and Shones had come up with a plan. Sometime around 11 pm or midnight, Shones heard something. A car drove up the road where he was stuck and parked a considerable distance from his vehicle. Five men emerged from the car and vanished into the night, leaving him and everyone else with questions.
Part 5: The Investigation Begins The families of Ted Weier, Jack Madruga, Bill Sterling, Gary Mathias and Jackie Hewitt were worried about their sons. No one returned home from the game, and nobody called to say they were running late or had a flat tire or anything. Completely out of character. Also, the Special Olympics tournament scheduled for Saturday the 25th was of the utmost importance for all five.
They wanted to win the tournament because their trip to Los Angeles for the Special Olympics event included tickets to Disneyland. Ted Wiers' sister-in-law drove to downtown Marysville in Yuba County to see if the men were at a local department store. They planned to meet there on the morning of the 25th to ride to the basketball tournament with their coach. When she arrived, none were at the store.
Jack's mother called the Yuba County Sheriff's Department that morning to report the five missing. Due to the men being adults, the Sheriff's Department explained they would need to wait 24 hours before fully filing a missing persons report. Family members drove to Chico along highways 70 and 99, searching for the car and the five, but with no luck.
A few family members created posters with their photos. Plus, they alerted the local media of the missing five. It was 8 p.m. on Saturday the 25th when the report was made at the Yuba County Sheriff's Department. According to the families, the Sheriff's Department got on the case when they learned the five had intellectual disabilities and schizophrenia. "Ebolo," or "be on the lookout," was issued from Sacramento to the California/Oregon state line.
From Saturday the 25th until Monday the 27th, no reports surfaced of the missing men or the Montego. The families grew anxious about their safety and well-being. Law enforcement was absolutely stumped because five men vanished in a car during a trip home. Were they kidnapped? Did they want to drive off and start a new life? The families pooled money and set up a reward for information leading to any discovery of the five.
It was late on Tuesday, February 28, 1978, when a US forestry worker contacted law enforcement about an abandoned 1969 Mercury Montego in the Plumas National Forest. It was the car owned and driven by Jack Madruga the night the men went missing. The car was stuck in the snow on a remote road, but the five men were nowhere to be found.
law enforcement raced to the site and a massive search and rescue operation went underway. The car's location shocked the investigators as it was found some 75 miles in the wrong direction from Yuba County. Getting to that location involved a trip through a town called Oroville on the Oroville-Quincy Highway, which went over a large bridge at Lake Oroville. Madruga knew the area and would have known he was not going the correct way home.
The Montego was abandoned in neighboring Butte County, so Yuba County worked with them on searching for the men in the plumas. The weather did not cooperate. Rain, sleet, and snow slowed down the search and even brought it to a halt. The night the men vanished, the temperatures fell below freezing, and there was anywhere from 1 to 5 feet of snow. Some spots reportedly had more.
Search and rescue teams knew the men were wearing light clothing, spring jackets and tennis shoes when they abandoned the Montego. Hypothermia was inevitable, and the hope was they would find the men somewhere in a cabin where they were safe and warm. However, officials cautioned their families for the worst. Law enforcement questioned if the car was abandoned by the men at that location or if it was parked there by the person or persons responsible.
families were pressed about situations where the five would be threatened or kidnapped. During this time, people contacted law enforcement about sightings of the men, and Joseph Shones was interviewed. He was reportedly the last man to see the five alive the night they went missing. Investigators wanted to know exactly what he saw. Part 6: The Sightings Some people came forward, telling investigators about seeing the men on February 24th, 1978.
One was the editor of the local newspaper in Chico. He was at the basketball game at Chico State and saw the men in the stands. The editor said the game was not well attended and noticed the five were enjoying themselves. Also, the person working Bear's Market remembered the five coming in at closing time. They said the five were in a great mood as they shopped for snacks.
Joseph Shones was interviewed twice during the first week of March 1978 by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department. His stories varied, and it frustrated the investigators. Joseph Shones claimed not to be drinking that night, but later they discovered that Shones had somewhere between three and six beers at two establishments in the plumas. One woman who served Joseph Shones beers on February 24th found it odd he drove towards a remote, dangerous road.
She realized if he got stuck, it would be rare for anyone else to travel down the same road. When Shones spoke with investigators, he recounted trying to stay warm in his car while recovering from a heart attack. He heard a noise, and it was the Montego coming up the road where he was stuck. He thought he was saved. Shones cried out for help, but witnessed something peculiar. Five men emerged from the vehicle before a red pickup truck pulled behind them.
Soon, a woman with a baby and then a man exited the truck. Now Shone's stories vary, but the men apparently got into the back of the truck or ran into the woods. Shone's claimed his heart attack left him delirious and muddled his memory. Not only did Shone's speak with investigators, but he also spoke to the press.
His stories would become a tangled web and in the book, Things Aren't Right, The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five, the author dissects Schoen's tales to display inconsistencies. He claimed he was resting comfortably in the car in one story, but in another, he told the press he could only get comfortable in his vehicle with his legs dangling out.
Shones also stated the men and the people from the pickup truck were about 100 yards away, but then he would claim they walked up to his car with flashlights, which frightened Shones, who was begging for help. Most importantly, Shones would always put the emphasis on his situation rather than the five men who were lost in the plumas. What we do know is that Shones eventually abandoned his car to make the trek back to the closest establishment.
the one that served him beer the day before. Shones, who suffered a heart attack, walked some eight miles for help. The journey took some four to five hours because Shones claimed he was in a great deal of pain and weak from his heart attack.
Shones also informed investigators that he walked past Madrugas Montego. Stories vary from Shones. As he told one person, he simply looked into the car, but told another that he sat in the car to try to get warm. When Shones showed up to the establishment, he made no mention of the five men, their abandoned car, or his heart attack. Investigators received another lead not long after they interviewed Shones.
a woman reported a sight of the five men. She allegedly saw the missing five at a convenience store in Brownsville, California, located some 60 miles south of where the men abandoned their car. She gave the men's descriptions and they were all wearing different clothes than what they were reported wearing when they vanished. From what the witness recalled, she saw three of them in a pickup truck outside of the store. Then she saw two of the men at a payphone.
When shown a picture of the five, the woman claimed Jackie Hewitt was using the phone. This contradicted what was known about Jackie, since he avoided telephones. Investigators searched the area where the men were reportedly seen, but came up empty-handed. They spent March, April, and May looking for the men in the plumas. None of the men were found. Some investigators believed their remains would be found in the fall when hunting season resumed.
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The area had experienced a rough winter and many trees were down, making their trip much more treacherous. The three stopped near a place called the Daniel Zink Campground. Once there, an ungodly scent assaulted them. One of the three went to investigate and noticed some US Forest Service trailers. One trailer had an open window, so the man stuck his head inside and discovered a corpse covered in sheets on a bed.
the three men rushed to the nearest payphone and alerted the authorities. Members of three different sheriff's departments converged on the scene. As they soon discovered, the body was of Ted Weier. At the time he went missing, Ted weighed roughly 200 pounds. However, his body in the trailer showed dramatic weight loss around 80 to 100 pounds. They surmised a broken window was perhaps the way Ted and the others got into the trailer.
The trailer was stocked with canned meals used by the military, called C-rations. The cans require a special can opener to open them, and someone with military experience would know how to use this special can opener. Cans littered the floor of the trailer, and investigators concluded that Ted was the deceased since he wore the same clothes he was reported wearing when he went missing.
Ted also had a fully grown beard, which shocked some since he was clean-shaven when he vanished. Another note: Ted's shoes were missing, and his feet showed major frostbite. Those that searched the trailer where Ted was found discovered a pair of shoes. This pair matched the description of Gary Mathias' shoes. Specifically, the pair worn the night he went missing. Gary himself, however, was nowhere to be found.
Investigators noticed that Ted, Gary, and anyone else that made it to the trailer did not use the attached propane tanks for heat. Had they done that, then they might have survived. Officials guessed the propane tanks may have been covered by snow when the men arrived, making them unfortunately hidden. Days after Ted was found, the remains of Jack Madruga and Bill Sterling were found three miles south of the trailer where Ted's body was discovered.
Jack and Bill's remains were scavenged by animals, and it was difficult for investigators to determine their cause of death. From what they found of the remains, there was clothing and identification for both men. Jack was found clutching a watch, and the keys to his Montego were in his pocket. Then Jackie Hewitt was found. He was a mile south of the trailer, and his remains were also scattered.
Investigators believed Jack, Bill and Jackie perished on the way to the trailer. After another week or two, the search was called off in late June 1978. The search never resumed and Gary Mathias or his remains were never found. His family believes he died in the plumas. Part 8. Theories
The disappearance and deaths of Ted Weier, Jack Madruga, Bill Sterling, Gary Mathias, and Jackie Hewitt have baffled investigators and families for decades. Why did they abandon a car in the plumas some 75 miles away from home? What led to their deaths? In the book, Things Aren't Right: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five,
The author theorizes that the men took Highway 99 out of Chico and connected to Highway 70 to go home from the game. For some reason, they took the exit to Oroville to use the restroom or a payphone. It was in Oroville where something went wrong. Either the men were harassed by a group of drunks or someone with unfinished business, and a connection to one of the men crossed their path.
From there, it is possible that the men were chased into the plumas or forced at gunpoint to drive that way. Whatever happened in the plumas is unknown, but it is where the five died. Some theorize that the men simply got lost. This theory is flawed since Jack Madruga was a skilled driver who was known for being reliable. Madruga could have stopped in Oroville for a restroom break. He could have returned to Highway 70 to drive home.
The trip on the Oroville-Quincy Highway is out of character because the men needed to be home to get rest for their big basketball tournament. If he got lost, he could have turned around and found his way back to Highway 70. When you drive on the Oroville-Quincy Highway, the terrain changes drastically and the roads wind and wind up the hill. Highway 70 or 99 is flat and a straight drive.
Also, the moment when they saw pine trees and snow meant they were in the plumas and were a clear signal that they were going the wrong way. Madruga, according to his family, would not have gone on that road willingly because at some point it became unpaved and rutted. Jack Madruga hated driving on bad roads, and this was out of character. In addition, Madruga's Montego was found unlocked with a window down.
Jack's family said he would never walk away from his car without blocking it and rolling up the windows. Another theory is that Gary Mathias went crazy due to schizophrenia. Gary had two good years after beginning a regimen of medication that was supervised by his doctor. He had not been arrested in years, and his family saw that his life was on track. However, Gary had known Ted the longest, and it would be odd for Gary to go off on the others, especially Ted.
Gary wanted to play in the tournament as well and was excited about the game. Also, nobody from the Chico State game contacted law enforcement about Gary Mathias acting erratic at the game. It seems unlikely that Mathias could sit through an entire game and then snap for no reason. There was another theory linked to Gary Mathias. He had friends in a town called Forbes Town, which could be reached via the Oroville-Quincy Highway.
There was a turn that one would take to get to Forbes Town, and if it were missed, one would drive up into the plumas. Those friends in Forbes Town told investigators that they had not seen Gary in years. It would be a long trip to Forbes Town and then back home for the five. This trip would have interfered with their rest before a big game. The five, especially Jack and Ted, were set in their routines and did not want them to change for any reason.
Early in the investigation, law enforcement considered linking the men's disappearance to their involvement with the Gateway projects. Years before they vanished, Gateway was targeted by an arsonist. That person allegedly murdered the director of the facility. Nobody was ever arrested and it has been theorized that the five or one of the men knew who did the crimes. Maybe the perpetrator ambushed the men that night. What is absolutely strange is how the men made it to the trailer.
It was located 12 miles northeast of the road where the Montego was abandoned. The trek was difficult and it involved navigating winding roads in the plumas. To survive that walk took some superhuman endurance and skill. How long were the men walking in the plumas? How did they find the trailer? One investigator told the press in 1978 that it was basically a 1 in 1,000 chance of finding that trailer.
Law enforcement claimed that they did not know the location of the trailer. Plus, they admitted to searching south of the car for the men. Their reasoning was that the men would have gone downhill and not uphill. Downhill meant they would retrace their route and hopefully find a payphone or home or business where they could call home for assistance. Conclusion The story of the Yuba County Five has fascinated people since 1978.
This tale is strange but heartbreaking since the families have nothing in the way of closure. Five friends wanted to see a basketball game, but they ended up dead in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in the Plumas National Forest. Their special Olympics game meant the world to them and missing it was out of the question. Why would these men take a different road to the middle of nowhere instead of the one they knew that would take them home?
